One of the consequences of any modern global conflict, in addition to the frequent emergence of new political figures and new ideological groups, is the appearance of some remarkable new media personalities who report on and interpret them.
The platforms and venues for these new personalities in the age of the internet and social media are quite varied and enable the media to reach large numbers of persons worldwide. Those who are opinion journalists are usually called “influencers.” They appear not only on well-known and established venues such as TV, cable and radio networks, social media websites, and podcasts, but also on their own “channels” supported by paid subscribers.
One very notable such example is the London-based Tousi.TV operated by Mahyar Tousi, an Iranian-born Englishman living in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Tousi is a charismatic personality who has gained more than 1.5 million paid subscribers worldwide, and millions more who watch his usually twice daily live hour-long broadcasts for free on YouTube. (Paid subscribers have access to Tousi videos and other subscriber-only features; there are occasional ads on YouTube.)
With most of the U.S. and international media misreporting the U.S.-Israeli military efforts in Iran, Tousi and Tousi.TV has become a valuable go-to media venue for accurate information about the conflict. Despite his personal pro-U.S., pro-Israel, and anti-jihadist Islamic Republic views, Tousi tirelessly and fastidiously reports the facts, even when they run counter to his point of view. Time and again, his channel reports what’s happening well before any other media venue.
For this reason, he is often invited by other media, most notably Fox News, to appear and speak on Iran for their broadcast programs.
Tousi is an avowed conservative who admires President Trump and the U.S. Republican Party, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces, President Javier Milei, and other global conservative leaders and groups.
At the same time, he is an outspoken critic of U.S. Democrats, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and global socialists and Marxists, as well as British Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his party, whom he denounces regularly for their current degradation of the United Kingdom and the English traditions and way of life.
He often devotes a daily program to examining the controversies and blunders of Starmer’s Labour government and the lack of security in London, where he lives.
Tousi supports the Iranian opposition coalition now led in exile by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi. He believes that Pahlavi should be the eventual constitutional monarch of a democratic Iran after the Islamic Republic jihadist regime is ousted.
An important part of Tousi’s growing appeal is his pithy, informal style, laden with humor and quirky self-deprecating comments that accompany the breaking news, along with videos from Iran and televised statements by world leaders and Islamic Republic spokesmen.
He is outspokenly critical of “fake news” reports in the press and on broadcast and social media, and delights in exposing their dishonesty.
He is backed up by an outstanding team that coordinates his broadcasts and appearances, provides him with verified source material and videos from outside and inside Iran, and manages the many aspects of Tousi.TV, including its technical details, merchandise sales, and paid membership administration.
On air and in live appearances, he does not wear a tie, parries jokes about his hair, and speaks bluntly and candidly, but also displays a wide and deep knowledge of history, global politics, and mass psychology.
He is a partisan, yet he is invariably fair, often saluting those he opposes when they occasionally do something well.
He is one of several new media conservative personalities who have created channels and other sites that reach out to conservatives and independents seeking refuge from ubiquitous liberal and leftist media bias.
Mahyar Tousi is perhaps the most addictive new international media personality, and thanks to the current dominance of events in Iran and the Middle East, is the face and voice of one of the fastest-growing alternative new media sites available to the expanding global conservative and independent audience.
Barry Casselman is a contributor to AMAC Newsline.
